


Vengeance

by Redgrave_Writer



Series: Vengeance [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Elf, Fantasy, Magic, dragon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25017829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redgrave_Writer/pseuds/Redgrave_Writer
Summary: The first story I created over 10 years ago and it is constantly changing. So if the style seems to change or the parts don't seem to line up correctly, it's a place I have/haven't rewritten it to my liking. Much like the Ohio freeways, there is always construction going on with this one. It started as a backstory for a D&D character and it just kind of kept going. I'm also really bad at staying in the same tense, compounded with it being slowly written and rewritten over 10 years, so I apologize in advance and I am aware of the issue.
Series: Vengeance [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811545





	Vengeance

The only memory Aelith has of her mother is the mental imprint of her name and the apologetic look on her face as she started to take wing, but this is the way when a dragon gives birth to a half-dragon. Her mother could not birth her among the dragons, for it is considered a shame among them to raise anything but a pure blood. It may seem a bit harsh, but a half-dragon still has the fighting spirit of a full-dragon. So no matter what might come, surviving is in Aelith’s blood . . .

After several days of sitting in the place where her mother left her, hoping that she would return, Aelith gives into the hunger that is gnawing at her stomach. She stands up and begins to search for something she could eat. She looks up into the trees, noticing motion, and sees a squirrel scampering down the trunk. Being no bigger than a small dog, this would be a substantial meal for her. She creeps behind a nearby rock and waits for the perfect time to strike.

The squirrel jumps to the ground, its ears raised to any danger that might be near. After a minute or two it is satisfied that it is safe and starts rummaging through the leaf litter for any buried nuts. Its search slowly brings it closer and closer to the rock where Aelith is hiding. Anticipation courses through her like a drug, her heart racing, her vision tunneling in, and every muscle tensing, ready to spring into action.

She lunges towards her pray, claws digging into its back and jaws lock onto its neck. As it struggles Aelith digs her claws in deeper and clamps her jaws down harder. She feels its life slowly fade away and after it is gone she lets go and starts to pick it apart and eat it.

Feeling better after her meal she walks back over to the rock and crawls under a small out cropping. She curls up and falls asleep.

Aelith stretches and yawns as she wakes up. She peers out from under her rock to see that night has fallen on her little glade. A howl echoes through the air as she starts to crawl out. She scans the forest around her and sees a pair of glowing eyes staring right at her. She quickly squeezes back into her hole just as the wolf starts to run at her.

It growls and grumbles as it tries to fish her out with its paw. Every time it gets close to her she chomps down on its paw and then pushes herself flatter against the back wall. Yipping in pain the wolf pulls its paw out and begins digging to make the hole big enough for its head.

Trying out its newly sized hole the wolf sticks its head in and is quickly greeted by a bite on the nose. It whimpers and quickly pulls out. Realizing that the meal is not worth the effort it slowly stalks off to go nurse its injured nose.

Aelith spends the rest of the night awake and staring out the hole for anything else that might try to make a quick meal of her.

As the moon slowly sinks below the horizon and the sun begins to peek through the trees, the light illuminates the opening to her “cave” and Aelith’s head slowly sinks to the ground as she dozes off, feeling safe in the sunlight. 

When Aelith wakes up again it is mid-afternoon. She crawls out and stretches in the sun, her ice-blue scales sending sparkles all over the surrounding trees. Then she trots off to go find lunch. After a little while she comes up on a little field with grass that comes up to her shoulders. She ducks down and slowly walks through the grass, constantly alert for predators. As she creeps through the grass she catches a scent that arouses her inner hunter. She lifts her head above the grass and peers around. Towards the edge of the forest she sees a rabbit nibbling at a clover patch. She slithers herself as close as she can get and still be concealed by the grass, her muscles tense waiting to be unleashed at the right moment. There is a snap in the forest somewhere behind the rabbit and it crouches down and stares into the woods.

 _Now!_ Her mind screams.

She shoots from the grass like a tiny blue lightning bolt, her jaws around its head in an instant. She whips her head quickly and snaps its neck. Crouching over her kill she scans the area to make sure it is safe to drag it off without being pursued. Satisfied she would be fine she grabs the kill and trots back to the grass to enjoy her meal.

Finishing the last of her meal she makes her way back into the trees, the scent of blood surrounding her so thick can barely think straight.

_This is no good. This is the reason I was attacked by that thing last night. I must rid myself of this smell._

She seeks out the small stream she had seen on her way to the meadow, and slips into the water without as much as a ripple. She takes a deep breath and lets herself sink to the bottom, where she lays on a cool rock on the riverbed. As the water slowly swirls around her she takes a snap at a passing fish, but misses. Aelith likes it in the water; it gives her a pleasant weightless feeling. Swimming to the bank she wiggles into the sand till she is buried and her nose is just above the surface and dozes for a while.

As she awakes she opens her eyes to see that a frog is sitting to close to her mouth for its own good. Gliding deeper into the water with a nice crunchy snack to keep her company she decides to follow the river to its end. Aelith moves with the water, as though she is part of it. There is no telling her apart from the liquid as it flows over rocks and roots, just a beautiful simmering stream.

Aelith feels the temperature drop as she leaves the confines of the stream as it empties into a lake. She swims to the bank and crawls out onto the sand, her feet barely sinking into the grains. She stands on her hind legs and looks to the other side of the lake. It isn’t large, but just large enough to barely see the other side. A bit further down the shore she sees a mound of rocks that has water trickling from an opening. As she investigates into the hole she finds that inside the mound is a cave that houses the source of the water running into the lake.

_This is where I shall make my home . . ._

Aelith wonders to the back of the cave and curls up. Just before she drifts off she snakes her head over to the trickle of water and takes a long drink.

Aelith rolls over into the sunlight that was streaming into her cave. She stretches and claws at her belly, her mouth gaping into a long hissing yawn. She wriggles her back on the cave floor as an itchy surge runs down it. She lies there for a bit longer, thinking about how funny the world looks when it is upside-down. With a huff she rights herself and stands up into a cat-like stretch, dragging her claws across the cave floor, and then trots out into the warm sunlight. She peers down from her perch into the clear lapping waves of the lake and shivers at the thought of going into the cold water while the sun is so warm. She snakes her way into the woods to begin exploring.

Aelith wastes some time by sticking her nose into holes in the ground, some of them being occupied and not at all happy about being disturbed. A pinecone holds her interest for a while as she bats it around the forest floor, jumping in and out of leaf piles at it and stalking it from around trees. Suddenly that infernal itch on her back returns and she stands on her hind legs to scratch it on a tree. Something rustles in the leaves above her and she begins to climb it, all interest in the pinecone lost. She scampers up and through the branches just in time to see a bird take wing and fly out across the lake. As she watches it disappear she feels an odd longing well up inside of her, as if the blue of the sky was calling out to her and she wanted nothing more in that moment than to play in the clouds. In her absent mindedness she found her back leg had started scratching her back. She felt this itch would be the death of her, and she gives herself a shake. She climbs back down the tree and takes a small swim in the lake that seemed to calm the sensation for a while.

As the days wore on the itch only seemed to get worse till the morning she woke up and found that sometime during the night she had rubbed her back on the rocks hard enough that some of her scales had come off. She pushes some of the dulling blue scales around, finding some amusement in the shiny spots that they send simmering around the cave. She swings her neck around and looks at the two streaks of bare blue skin that are running parallel to her back spines. It no was longer itching but now it burned as if on fire. She begins to lick them in an effort to help ease the burn, but the roughness of her tongue only to made it worse. She shambles out of her little cave to slide once more into the water. It is here that she spends most of her day, just drifting aimlessly through the lake, as it is the only relief she could find.

As she finally squishes out of the lake the sun is beginning to set. She looks to her back and notices that the little patches of skin have become swollen with water, making them nearly translucent. She lets out a huff as she stumbles into her cave, exhausted from a day spent swimming.

Aelith wakes sometime in the night and rolls into a stretch, which greets her with strange new sensations on her back and the feeling of hot liquid running down her sides. Her head snaps back to see two leathery wings are now protruding from her back where the scaleless patches had been. She stares at them in wide eyed wonder and she tries to move them around. At first the motions are awkward and jerky until her mind gives a little tingle and she suddenly feels as if she has always had the leathery appendages. She jumps out of her cave and into the air just as gracefully as any winged creature. She skims the surface of the lake, the dark waves reflecting the pale moonlight. She swoops straight up into the night air, intent on getting to her clouds. As she rises it gets colder and she starts finding it hard to breath. She is so close to a cloud but the burn in her lungs proves too much and she dives back down to the lake, her mood suddenly soured.

As months passed there is very little time that Aelith doesn’t spend in the air, and it seems the wings are not the only changes her body has in store for her. Muscles start tingling in odd ways, and when they do it almost feels as though they are shifting right under her skin. Her bones seemed to be resetting and resizing themselves of their own accord. Eventually Aelith comes to find that her usual “all fours” gate is no longer comfortable to walk around with and takes to two legs just as easily as she did her wings. Along with that she finds that instead of just pawing at things to do her bidding she can now pick them up and grasp them, and her size was ever increasing. She even had to pull some rocks out of the way to ensure that she could still get in and out of her cave without squeezing. She starts to become worried that she will have to find a new cave altogether. She ducks her head as she enters her now tiny home, hoping that tomorrow would not bring any more unwelcome changes.

Aelith crawls out of the mouth of her cave, stands up and throws her hands in the air with a stretch. She yawns with a mighty roar and strides to the water’s edge. Cupping her hands she dips them in the lake, splashes water on her face, and sits down with a huff. The sun is just starting to peak over the mountains in the distance. She planned on sitting and watching the sunrise, just as she did almost every morning.

“Well, what do we have here?” comes a tiny sound from behind her.

Aelith wheels around to face the noise.

“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Aelith began to feel like she should know the strange noises this creature was making.

“Do you have a name?”

Then, the ancient knowledge that was locked deep in her brain, surfaced with an odd tingly sensation.

“Yes, my name . . . I believe I am called Aelith.”

“Well hello Aelith, I am Sariya.” With that the tiny figure holds out her hand.

Aelith looks inquisitively at the figure. She is a child with pale white skin, flowing black hair, and pointed ears. She must be an elf. So her newfound words must be Elvin. Aelith looks to the girl’s outstretched hand puzzled.

Sariya gives a little laugh, “You shake it, with your hand silly!”

Aelith cautiously extends her hand and grasps Sariya’s.

Sariya gives Aelith’s hand a slow up and down motion “This is how we say hello. Where are your mommy and daddy? And the rest of your village? Are you lost?”

“I . . . have none of those things.” Aelith says looking to the ground.

A frown creeps across Sariya’s face as she realizes what Aelith is saying “oh . . . I’m so sorry.”

“Its fine, I’ve been able to make quite a living for myself at this lake.”

A smile makes its way across Sariya‘s face. “I know! You can come live with me! And I can be your family!”

Aelith looks up to the beaming face of the little elf in front of her. “Would that work?”

“Yes! I’m sure daddy wouldn’t mind having a new face in the house, and you’ll like sleeping in a bed!” With that Sariya grabs her hand and pulls her through the woods.

“Daddy!”

“Sariya, what . . .” her father replies to his daughter’s screeches. As Sariya pulls Aelith through the middle of the village, he stares and asks “who is this?”

“Daddy, daddy, daddy! This is Aelith, I found her while I was playing by the lake! She’s lost and said she doesn’t have a mommy or daddy or a village or a bed and she lives in the rocks . . .”

She keeps going on and on as her father tries to speak but she keeps cutting him off.

“And and and . . . can she live with us?” Sariya cocks her head to the side and gives him a big smile.

Her father kneels down and puts his hand on her head but looks to Aelith “No home you say?”

Aelith drops her head and shakes it no.

He takes his hand and lifts her chin back up “Well you do now.”

Aelith started to feel as though something were pushing on the inside of her chest, like something wanted to burst forth from inside her, and not knowing exactly what to do with this feeling she cocks her head to the side and utters a small “Thank you sir.”

“Now Sariya, I have work to do at the forge, before the metal cools, so why don’t you take Aelith and show her around?”

“Ok daddy!” as she starts pulling Aelith away to show her around.

“And make sure your home in time for dinner!” he yells after them.

“This is our house!” Sariya exclaims as she stops in front of what seems to be the biggest house in the village. “Daddy used to be a great weapon maker, for battles and wars, but he retired from that when I was born, then we moved here and now he mostly fixes things and makes stuff for people now. He promised to make me a sword when I was old enough.”

Aelith looks up at the house; it has two floors, is an off white and has wooden boarders around its features.

“Come on inside” Sariya grabs her hand again and pulls her through the door. “I’ll be right back!” She says as she flies up the stairs.

Aelith watches her disappear and then starts wondering around the house. As she enters the living room a dagger hanging from the wall catches her eye. She walks up to it and slowly pulls it out of its sheath. Its curved blade is polished to a brilliant shine and its black leather handle fits her hand perfectly. She turns it and sees runes etched into the blade.

Ddefender of honor

As she stares at the runes she feels that strange tingle in her mind again.

“That’s daddy’s favorite one, he told me it’s the Old Words for . . .”

“Defender Of Honor.” Aelith cut in.

“Yea, how did you know?”

“I don’t know.” She said sliding the blade back to its sheath.

“This is my dolly!” Sariya holds up a little rag doll that has on a pink dress and a blue hat “her name is Alexis . . . she’s named after my mommy”

Aelith’s mind twitches at the word, almost as if it didn’t seem to fit in her new language.

“Alexis seems a strange name for an elf.” Aelith blinks.

“Mommy grew up in Pyre, they have all kinds of strange names there.” Sariya says as she hugs it tight with an air of gloom creeping across her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Me and you are the same in a way . . . I don’t have a mommy either.”

“I’m sorry.”

Sariya puts her doll on the table and grabs Aelith’s hand and pulls her again “Come on, you still need to see the rest of the village!” drying her eyes with her other hand.

Sariya pulls Aelith from place to place, showing her the best places to get food, introducing her to people they pass on the road, some stare in amazement, others don’t even bat an eye. As they pass in front of a butcher shop Aelith stops and stares at all the delicious meats in the window while Sariya had kept walking past the building. Aelith presses her nose to the window and it starts to fog up.

“Ouch!” Sariya yelps.

Aelith looks over to see Sariya rubbing her shoulder and a small rock on the ground.

“Oh look at Sariya, she’s oh so sorry-ah” comes a boys voice from around the corner, it was followed by several more boys laughing.

What seems to be the leader of the pack walks up to Sariya and pushes her down.

“Oops”

“Stop it you guys!” Sariya says, stumbling to get up.

“Why? It’s oh so much fun” he says as he kicks her back down. Two other boys walk out from behind the building, pointing and laughing.

Aelith walks up to the boy “You leave her alone!”

“Or what? You’ll . . AH!” The boy exclaims as he turns and sees Aelith. “Wa ..wa.. what are you?”

“I’m a she! And my name is Aelith, now I said leave her alone!”

“Hey, what makes you think I’m going to listen to you? You . . . you freak!” he says as he gets in her face.

Aelith grabs him by the shirt and holds him above her head. She unfolds her wings from behind her and stretches them all the way out, making her look three times bigger than she is. “You will listen to me ‘cause I’ll tear you to tiny bits if you don’t!” she snarls.

“Okay, okay!” He cries “just put me down!”

She drops the boy and he scrambles to his feet to chase after the boys who had once been at his side.

“Thank you, Aelith” Sariya says as she gets up from the ground “maybe now they will leave me alone for good.”

“If we are now family, as you say, no thanks is needed. Besides, I owed you one for giving me a real home.”

Sariya hugs her and then grabs her hand. “Come on, its dinner time.”

As they enter the house an aroma of which Aelith has never experienced flows into her nostrils. “Mmm, what is that?”

“Smells like daddy made beef stew.” Sariya says as she sniffs at the air “That’s my favorite!” and with that she takes off to the dining room.

Aelith follows her to find her sitting at the table, squirming in her chair, waiting for her food. Aelith walks over and sits down next to her.

Sariya’s father walks in from the kitchen and puts a bowl in front of both of them and then goes back for his.

Aelith looks into the bowl to see a thick brown liquid with chunks of what she assumes to be meat and other strange things in it. “What did you say this was again?”

“Beef stew, don’t tell me you’ve never had that either!”

Her father walks in and sits down at the head of the table. He bows his head and begins to speak.

Aelith looks to Sariya and sees that she is doing the same.

“To the Ruler of the Everlasting Kingdom, we give thanks for this food and our safety. We ask that you continue to watch over us as we tread the path of life and see that we are met with only warmth, happiness, and good company. You have our praise.”

They raise their heads and begin to eat.

Aelith stares at the bowl blankly and she hears Sariya chuckle.

“Like this, with the spoon silly.”

She looks to Sariya and watches as she spoons some of the stew into her mouth. Aelith picks up her spoon and fumbles with it awkwardly.

“Guess I should have made something alittle easier for our guest on her first night.” Her father chuckles.

“Here, try like this.” Sariya says as she picks up her bowl.

Aelith follows Sariya and sips the soup straight from the bowl. “This is much easier.”

Dinner continued with much banter and chuckling as Aelith learned about the ways of her new found life. Once dinner was over Sariya jumped up from her chair and started to grab Aelith’s hand.

“Oh, no you don’t missy. It’s your bed time.”

“Awe, buuut daaaad.”

“The only ‘but’ here is ganna be yours, marching straight to your room to get ready for bed.”

“Can Aelith sleep with me in my room?”

“Fine, but try to keep it down.”

Sariya takes Aelith’s hand and drug her upstairs to her room.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Sariya sits on the rock that stretches over the lake splashing her feet in the water while Aelith floats lazily just off shore.

“It’s so quite out here.” Sariya breaths as she flops backwards onto the rock.

“That’s why I like it.” Aelith replies as she starts swimming towards Sariya not making so much as a sound or a ripple in the water. As soon as she is close enough she bursts from the shallows into the air with a spray of water and pounces on Sariya. She lets out a small squeak as Aelith landed on her and the two start wrestling around in the sand till they both fall apart laughing.

“You big meanie.” Sariya giggles as she stands up and brushes sand from her dress. “Pick on someone your own size.” She finishes as she sticks her tongue out at Aelith.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a pipsqueak I’d have someone to pick on.” Says Aelith as she rolls to her back and wiggles into the sun warmed sand. Just as the heat begins to sink in and warm her scales something hard lands on her stomach and almost knocks the wind out of her. Sitting up and sputtering she looks to Sariya. “What was that for?” she wheezes.

Sariya stands innocently with her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels. “Look in your lap.”

Aelith looked, and sitting in her lap was a smoothed stick that was the length of her arm. “What’s this fo . . .” She stops as she looks to Sariya, who has a stick of her own. It is in one hand and she is in a funny stance with the stick pointed at Aelith. “What are you doing?”

“Never sword fought with sticks before?”

“Did what?” Aelith asks as she picks up the stick and stares at it.

“Oh jeez!” the point of Sariya’s stick hits the ground “Do you even know what sword fighting is?” Aelith shakes her head no at the question. Sariya drops the stick and throws her hands in the air. “Come on! Do I have to teach you everything?” Sariya groans as she slowly knocks her head on a tree. She walks back to the stick and picks it up. “Alright. Stand up. My dad used to practice out back when he thought no one was watching. I’ll teach you.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sounds of wood cracking against wood echo through the woods as Aelith and Sariya dance back and forth on the beach, matching each other blow for blow. Sariya swings low for Aelith’s feet. Aelith jumps up and brings her stick down for a blow to the head and Sariya gets her stick up just in time to block. The resounding crack leaves Aelith standing over Sariya and Sariya’s stick in two pieces in her hands.

Sariya drops the two halves and forces out a laugh between heavy breaths. “Three years since I first showed you how to fight and now I’m the one on the ground.”

Aelith stabs the point of her stick into the ground and stands triumphantly. “Who is the master now?” She laughs heartily. “Kneel peasant! And I will consider knighting you into my army.”

“Haha, real funny.” She stands up and wheezes a little more. “Well it looks like I can do nothing more for you with the swords.”

“That’s okay, I was thinking that I need something that compliments my size a little more anyway.” Aelith walks to a tree and pulls a large leather tube from behind it.

“Ooo, what is that?” Sariya asks anxiously.

Aelith pulls the top off and slides out a length of wood that is still slightly rough but shows the beginning of intricate carvings. “I’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks now.”

Sariya takes the staff and runs her hands over it. “Aelith, it’s beautiful. Why did you wait so long to show me?”

“I wanted to wait till it was finished, but now seemed like as good a time as ever.”

“It looks a little tall for you.” Sariya says as she holds it up to Aelith.

“I gave it some room for growth. I don’t want to have to make a new one every few years.” She says as she slides the staff back into the leather tube.

“Good point.” Sariya agrees as she turns her eyes to the sky. “We should get home soon, dad will be done with dinner any moment.”

“Race ya.” Aelith grins as they take off into the woods.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The clang of metal on metal rings through the air as Sariya moves from shadow to shadow staying out of sight from the goblins that were over taking the Castle Rock. Sariya slides her daggers from her belt and holds them at the ready, her eyes scanning the carnage for her target. She finally spots the Goblin King on the rampart hoisting his flag high. It was the perfect time for her to strike.

Aelith bursts through the double doors of the fortress, clad in golden armor. With a mighty roar she charges into the fray, her muscles bulging as she swings the weight of the great axe, cleaving everything that is in her path.

Sariya tenses in the shadows as she comes up behind the Goblin King as he shouts his guttural orders to his underlings. Her hands grip her daggers tight as she readies herself to plunge them into his back.

Free of goblins Aelith buries her axe in the ground and draws out her bow. She takes aim at the Goblin King and releases her nocked arrow. The missile strikes true in the heart of the Goblin King and . . .

The sack of hay falls from the rocks as a pebble strikes dead center and it splashes into the lake.

Sariya stands up from behind a pile of rocks bewildered, and looks to Aelith, who is covered in wood planks. “Hey, no fair! I was supposed to kill him this time.” She throws her hands to the sky.

“Well you should have moved faster little sister. The whole of Castle Rock was at stake and I couldn’t wait for you.”

Sariya tosses one of her carved wood daggers at Aelith and it clatters against her makeshift wood armor “Four years you have been stealing my kills. What am I going to do with you?”

“Well we only have four more years till we have to leave on our ‘Journey of Enlightenment’ or whatever it is. Somebody has to keep you from getting killed.” Aelith chuckles.

“I know how to take care of myself, you just don’t want to see it. Besides, it’s not _that_ dangerous out there anyway. Now take that stupid armor off, we got errands to run for dad.” Sariya huffs off into the woods.

“Jeez, so touchy today.” Aelith whispers as she watches Sariya storm off. She unties the strings to her planks and tosses them in the cave where she used to sleep. She grabs her staff from the tree she left it leaning against and trots after Sariya. “Hey, wait up!”

Aelith catches up and fumbles with her staff as she tries to slide it in the holster on her back.

“Awe, the mighty Aelith, bested by a leather holster.” Sariya snickers.

“Oui, I’ve only had the thing for a week. Takes practice. So, what do we have to do for dad anyway?”

“Oh, you know, just stuff . . . and things.”

“Oh come on Sariya. This better not be about _him_.”

“ _He_ has a name Aelith, and it’s Theo.”

“He bullied you as a kid. Do you not remember that?” Aelith knocks lightly on Sariya’s head “Is there anyone home up there?”

Sariya waves away Aelith’s hand and stares at the ground “People change you know.”

“Psh, if you say so.” Aelith says rolling her eyes.

As the woods give way to the village Sariya dons a happier air and starts skipping her way to her father’s forge.

Aelith groans “You’re making me sick, like physically nauseous.”

Sariya gives her a playful punch on the arm “Oh, shut up. I can’t wait till you like someone and I can bug you about it.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m kind of the only one of . . . well me around here. Makes it a bit hard to fall don’t ya think?” Aelith responds while rubbing her arm.

“Stop that you, it’ll happen soon enough.”

“There are my lovely girls. What brings you two all the way up from the lake?”

“Hey dad!” Chimes Sariya “We were just wondering if there was anything you needed us to do for you today.” Aelith eyes her with mock anger “Deliver something, or pick up anything from the butchers.” She finishes the sentence with a great big smile.

“Ah, I see.” He drops some coins into Sariya’s out stretched hand. “Pick something nice out for dinner.”

“Thank you daddy!” she chimes and skips off.

“I swear.” Aelith breaths.

“I know.” Sariya’s father pats her on the shoulder. “Go on. Look after her.”

“Yea, yea. She is such a handful sometimes.” She chuckles as she struts off.

“Oh, I know.”

Sariya pushes open the door to the butchers and peers inside. She closes it just as quickly as she opened it and turns to Aelith, face bright red.

“He’s in there.” She hisses.

“And I am sure that he can’t hear you all the way out here.” Aelith mockingly whispers back “besides, isn’t that the whole reason you jaunted your way over here?”

Sariya takes a deep breath “Here we go.” She opens the door again and walks in.

“Wha . . . what, what is this ‘we’ crap?” Aelith grumbles as she catches the door before it closes “Dammit Sariya.”

Aelith follows Sariya as she wonders around the shop pretending to look at various things, all the while staying in the sight of Theo. Finally they make their way to the counter and Sariya leans on it.

“Hi Theo.” Sariya swoons.

“Hi Sari. How are you?” Theo half-smiles back.

“Well hello to you too.” Aelith says flatly.

“Aelith.” Theo glares back.

“Alright, break it up you two.” Sariya grumbles.

“Indeed.” Theo clears his throat “What can I get for you Sari?”

“Mmmm, I like that one.” Sariya points to a hunk of meat sitting towards the back.

“Good choice m’lady.” Theo half-smiles again “Let me just wrap it up for you.” He turns and begins wrapping it in paper.

Aelith rolls her eyes and Sariya nudges her in the ribs with her elbow hard enough to cause a grunt.

Theo returns to the counter “Here you are miss, hope to see you in again.”

“Thank you.” Sariya mumbles as she starts to turn red “Bye Theo.” And with that she hurries out.

Aelith grunts to Theo and follows Sariya out the door. Aelith finds her smiling from ear to ear leaning against the building hugging the hunk of meat.

“Come on twinkle toes, let’s get you back to the house before you float away.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aelith and Sariya come thundering down the stairs headed straight for the front door.

“Ah-ah-ah, not so fast girls.” Their father suddenly appears in front of them, a bowl in each hand. “I’m not letting you go without a decent breakfast. Today is an important day. You get to leave and experience the world. And make the choice to come back, I hope.”

“Oh dad, you know I can’t leave you.” Sariya says as she hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. “Not when you are so good to me.” She grabs one of the bowls from him and heads to the table.

He looks up to Aelith, now a full head and shoulders taller than him. “I suppose you want a hug too?”

Aelith chuckles “No, it’s fine, I’ll save you the embarrassment father.” She takes the other bowl and heads to the table as well.

“Aelith, I still don’t understand why you don’t just let me build a new chair.” Their father says as he walks in with his own bowl.

“It’s fine, you have other stuff to do dad. You are busy enough.” Aelith says as she leans on the wall as she starts to spoon oatmeal into her mouth.

“Alright, well just make sure you two come home before you take off”

“Of course dad, why wouldn’t we?” Sariya pipes.

“Oh, I was just making sure.” He grins at them both. “Now go have fun, it’s your last day, you don’t want to spend it here with your stuffed up old dad.

Aelith and Sariya lie in the shallows of the lake, letting the cool water wash over them as they soaked up the sun.

“It is such a nice day.” Sighs Sariya

“You say that every day we are down here.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true. Besides, today is a _really_ nice day, not a cloud in the sky, and it’s almost as blue as you are.”

“Very funny.” Aelith chuckles.

“Come on, we’ve been here for hours and I’m starving. Let’s head home and see what there is.”

Aelith stands up out of the water and stretches. She walks over to the tree where she had hung her clothes and started tugging them on. Once dressed she picks up her staff and wheels around just in time to block a swing from Sariya’s wooden sword.

“Damn you and your good timing” Sariya shoots

“You should have learned by now that even a sneak attack won’t land you the first hit.” Aelith shoots back grinning.

Sariya draws back and swings again.

Aelith deflects it and thrusts the butt of her staff straight at Sariya’s face, stopping inches from her nose. “I thought you were hungry.”

“Yea, well I was only testing you. Come on.”

“Oh sure, YOU were testing ME.” Aelith laughs as they start walking their well wore path back to the village.

“You know that you wouldn’t stand a chance against me if you’d just stop hiding behind you dragon senses . . . and your dragon strength . . . and your dragon speed.”

“Ha! I could beat you even if I were a blind squirrel with one paw tied behind my back.”

“Hey, that’s not funny!” Sariya shouts as she gives Aelith a playful shove.

“Really? Cause I found it rather amusing.”

A crash echoes through the woods and is shortly followed by a scream.

The two look at each other, draw their staves from their back holsters, and sprint towards the village.

As they emerge from between houses they see that their village is being ransacked by masses of green hulking forms.

“Orcs!” Sariya yells “Bastards!”

“What?”

“Orcs, They are what killed my mother. Now is my time for vengeance!” Sariya growls, tears threatening to stream from her eyes.

“We don’t even have real weapons, rushing in now would be sui . . . cide.” Aelith starts to say but it is too late, for Sariya is already running head long into the fray. Groaning loudly Aelith runs after Sariya, cracking orcs left and right with her staff.

“We need to find my father!” Sariya yells over the battle.

“Let’s make our way to his forge!” Aelith yells back “He might even have some swords we could use!”

They battle their way across the village helping the few elves that are putting up as much fight as this peaceful village could offer. As they reach the forge they are greeted by twenty orcs that were picking up anything they could find.

“No you don’t!” Sariya screams and runs at them.

Aelith catches an orc that was about to slash Sariya in the back with the butt of her staff. It falls to the ground and she crushes its head beneath her foot. “Sariya, he’s not here, lets g . . .” She feels something strike the back of her head and the world goes black.

As Aelith comes to, she finds herself lying on the ground. She sits up and rubs the back of her head, wincing as pain shoots through her body. The metallic smell of blood and burning wood is all that filled the air. She gives a sniff as the aroma assaults her nose. She looks around trying to gain her bearings, her head fuzzy. Slowly the horror that surrounded her came into focus. Bodies lay strewn everywhere and most of the buildings had collapsed into themselves due to fire. A giant black cloud still hung in the air.

_Is Sariya still alive?_ The thought suddenly coursed through her mind like fire.

She jumps up and run to the ruins of her father’s forge to begin searching through the rubble.

“Sariya!” Aelith screams as she sees her lying beneath a large beam that had once held up the roof.

She moves to the end hanging in mid air and wraps her arms around the beam. She groans, her muscles bulge as she lifts the beam into the air and with a mighty roar she flings it with as much ease as if it had been a twig. She drops to her knees at Sariya’s side and cradles her limp body.

“No, please don’t be dead, you can’t be dead.” Aelith sobs rocking back and forth.

“Aelith . . . what happened?” came Sariya’s voice, weak and shaky.

“Oh Gods! I thought you were dead” Aelith broke out into tears as she hugged her close. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“How bad is it?”

“I . . . I don’t know. The first thing I did was look for you.”

“Father!” Sariya stands up and winces, her hand flying to her side.

“Stop, you could make it worse.”

“No, I have to find my father!”

They both stumble towards the house, holding each other up as they went. Getting closer they see that the door has been broken down and most of the windows are smashed. When they get through the door they see him sitting, propped against a wall, breathing heavily.

“Father! Are you ok?” Sariya sinks to his side.

“My daughter.” He breaths “I’m so glad I get to see you one last time.” His hand drifts to her face.

“Don’t talk like that daddy, you’re ganna make it.” Sariya sobs.

Aelith kneels by his other side and inspects a broken arrow shaft that is protruding from his shoulder.

“Alas, that is not what did me in.” he chokes as he lifts a blood soaked hand from his stomach, revealing that he had been run through. Sariya lets out a sob and puts her head on his shoulder “Don’t cry my child. I have lived a good life, and am proud to have two loving daughters at my side now” his gaze drifts to Aelith “and I am glad that you both made it. I know you will do me proud in your lives. I had gifts to give you both before you left for your journey, and now seems as good a time to give them to you. They are beneath the loose floor boards in my room. I love you both.” And with a sigh his head lolls forward.

“No! Daddy don’t go!” Sariya cries. She stands, tears flowing freely from her eyes. “That is two parents that those foul beasts have taken from me! I shall not rest till I see them all slain!” Her hand shoots out and connects with the wall. She utters a soft moan and collapses onto the floor.

Aelith went to her side and lifts her tunic to inspect her side. There, was a deep slash, which was still trickling blood and radiating heat. “I told you not to overdo it.” Aelith sighs.

She places her hand on the wound and suddenly she feels a strange rush of energy down her arm ant through her hand. The skin around the gash starts to ripple like water and flow back together, sealing up the gash till it looked as though it had never existed at all.

Aelith stares wide eyed and unable to comprehend what has just happened.

A soft moan from Sariya brings Aelith back to reality. She picks her up and carries her to her bedroom and lays her on the bed. “Rest well sister” she whispers. 

Aelith walks into Sariya’s father’s room and starts testing the boards to find which one is loose. As she finds it she begins prying up the boards one by one until she can reach her hand in.

Underneath lie two identical bows, a great sword and a double bladed sword, all bound in polished black leather. She picks up the lot and takes it into Sariya’s room and lays them on her table.

“What was it?” Sariya breathes.

“Well” Aelith picks up the double bladed sword and reads the tag attached to it “This is for you” and hands her the weapon.

“And there’s even rubies in the hilts” she sniffs “I always loved rubies.”

Aelith picks up the great sword “There’s sapphires in mine. Here, there’s a bow too.”

“This one is yours.”

“How can you tell?”

“It’s bigger than the other one.”

In the weeks that it took them to completely recuperate from the attack, they had buried most of the dead and burned what orc bodies that they could find. When they were ready they strapped their new weapons to their backs and set off to exact their rage on the orc clan, or clans that had ravaged their village.

Aelith tromps through some foliage. “Three stinking days we have been on this trail of yours, and this old camp here is the best we have seen. Are you sure we are even going the right way?”

“This fire pit can’t be more than a few days old, and the animals haven’t gotten to the scraps of leftover meat, they can’t be far off.” Sariya says as she pokes through the ashes.

“Which way do you think they went?”

Sariya stands up and walks the perimeter of the abandoned camp. She stops and touches a broken fern and some trampled plants.

“Alright, set up camp somewhere, or continue? It’s gettin’ kinda dark.” Aelith grumbles.

“If we go now we might be able to catch them while they are setting up a camp of their own.”

As the sun sets the two see a glow coming from between the trees.

“See, we got em.” Sariya whispers as they creep towards the camp.

“I’ll take this side, you take the other?”

“Works for me.” Sariya said as she disappears into the darkness.

Aelith creeps to the edge of the camp, keeping just out ring of light created by the crackling fire. She sees a flash off the metal of Sariya’s blade from the other side of the camp. Aelith draws the sword from her back and makes a shine back. Aelith counts to three in her head then jumps into the light and strikes the first orc in the neck with a blow that almost cuts him in two.

Sariya and leaps in swinging her sword like a staff. She slits the second ones neck and pushes the other blade through a thirds guts. The last starts to draw its weapon only to find his head on the ground before his sword could even leave its holster.

Aelith kneels down and starts wiping the blood from her sword on the decapitated orc’s tattered shirt. “Well that was easier than I thought it would be. Real naturals at this, us two.”

Sariya slides her sword into the holster on her back but remains silent. She kneels down and starts digging through an orcs bag.

Aelith stares at her solemnly and asks “You find anything?”

“Just a wineskin, catch, there’s some left.” Sariya says as she tosses it to Aelith.

Aelith catches it, uncorks it and takes a swig. “Ugh! Damn orcs, how can they even drink this swill?!” she says as she coughs it out. “Anything _not_ tainted by the orcs in there?”

“No.” Sariya sighs and sits down by the fire. “At this rate we will never catch them all. There were scores of them that attacked the village, and this was what, four? And we don’t even know if these ones were there.”

Aelith sits down next to her disheartened friend and puts her arm around her. “We are doing the right thing whether they were there or not, if not our village they must be responsible for something. Better to get them now rather than wait till they kill someone else.”

Sariya sighs again “Yea, but where does that get us? Seems a dark path to go down.”

“Or a bright one.” Aelith stands up and flexes “Just imagine it. Sariya and Aelith, destroyer of Orc race. Mighty heroes!”

Sariya smacks Aelith’s leg “Oh stop it.”

Aelith drops her arms “What? It could happen.” She flops back down on the ground “It could be just like those silly games we used to play.”

“Ha, those were terrible.”

“Not as terrible as your infatuation with that creep Theo.”

“Oh, why did you have to go and bring that up?”

“Cause it brings me amusement.” Aelith chuckles “The amusement of how I am always right.”

“Yea, yea.” Sariya stands up and dusts off the back of her pants “Let’s get out of here, these things are starting to stink.” She kicks one of the bodies as she stalks out of the camp.”

Aelith finishes strapping her bedroll onto her pack and swings it over her shoulder. She kicks dirt over the last embers that were glowing in their fire pit. She nudges the sleeping Sariya in the ribs with her boot “Come on sleepy head, time to pack up.” Sariya groans and throws her arm over her eyes “I’ll leave without you. I swear it. Don’t test me woman.”

“Fine” Sariya groans again “Just don’t leave.” She drags herself from her bedroll and starts rolling it up.

“Good, I’ll be on the road waiting for you, so hurry up.”

(Add more here, kinda just blank space leading to the kill, and I guess add a few years of journey)

Aelith and Sariya find themselves stalking a small group of orcs across a large hilly plain. They sit, watching the orc camp from a distance, when something catches Sariya’s eye. She growls in anger and leaps up into brisk run toward the camp. Aelith tries to stop her but she just cannot keep up with her enraged pace. Suddenly Aelith sees what had made Sariya so furious, her father’s most prized dagger, hanging from the belt of an orc. She runs into the camp, rips the dagger from its sheath, and slits the throat of the orc that carrying it. Spinning around, she stabs another through its ribs. She kicks the last to the ground where Aelith proceeds to put an arrow in its head. Sariya cleans the knife blade quickly and sticks it back in its sheath. She stumbles over to a rock and sits down, clutching the dagger close to her chest. Tears are streaming down Sariya’s face as Aelith comes over and puts her arm around Sariya. “It’s ok lady.” she says softly “It will be ok.”

“I miss him so much Aelith.” She gives a sniff and uses her sleeve to dry her cheeks “I never thought I would see this again. It’s been over a year Aelith. I thought it was gone.”

“I miss him too sis, I’m glad to see it back in your hands.”

Aelith hears something whistle through the air and before she can react a black object hits Sariya in the shoulder. She falls backwards and hits the ground with a thump, uttering a small cry. Aelith jumps up, draws her bow and fires a shot that leaves like a thunderbolt. With deadly accuracy the arrow hits true, right between the eyes of an orc. Throwing the bow to the ground she wheels around and sinks to the ground next to Sariya. Looking worriedly at her she asks “Sariya are you ok?”

Sariya pushes herself into a sitting position on the ground and probes at her shoulder around the arrow. “Yea, I should be fine, but it feels like it didn’t go all the way through though, so getting it out is ganna hurt.”

“Well, if it’s barbed than I’m going to have to push it the rest of the way through so I don’t shred everything by pulling it out.” Aelith says grimly.

Sariya winces and rips a sleeve off her shirt “Do it.” She says before she rolls up the cloth and puts it between her teeth.

Aelith grips the arrow and gives a quick push that sends the arrow the rest of the way through her shoulder. Sariya groans as the muscles in her face roil and knot at the pain.

“Just a bit more.” Aelith tries to calm her. She breaks the head of the arrow off and slides the shaft back out through the other side of her shoulder. Sariya’s fists clench and she pounds at the ground.

“Gods damn it!” Sariya shouts as she spits the cloth out of her mouth. “That hurts.”

“I bet it does, just try to stay still.” Aelith says as she begins bandaging the wound and making a sling for her arm. “Don’t move it around so much.” Aelith scolds as Sariya tries to move her arm around.

Sariya scowls as she sits in the grass and pokes around the sling with her good hand “How am I supposed to fight with my arm like this?” She grumbles “My bow, two hands. My sword, two hands. BLAH!”

“Calm down, would you.” Aelith shushes “The herbs I put in there should have it healed and working fine in a few days.”

“A few days?” She groans dramatically “I don’t want to wait that long.” and she throws herself backwards onto the grass.

“Oh hush up you baby.”

Sariya’s face twists for a second and she groans. “That was unpleasant. Is it supposed to do that? I know medicine sucks and all, but, ow.”

Aelith glances to Sariya “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” Sariya stares up at the clouds, her words holding a twinge of slur “It’s like the muscles in my neck just turned into roped leather.”

Aelith kneels in the grass next to Sariya. “Alright, let me look at that shoulder.” She peels off the bandages. “That’s not exactly a good thing.”

“Don’t tell me that. That is . . . not the . . . fluffy cloud . . . drifting into . . . the . . . trees. Blowing in the wind. Leaves . . . dancing . . .”

Aelith touches the flesh around the wound. The graying skin practically falls off at the pressure. “Oh Sariya, this isn’t . . . Sariya?” Aelith sees Sariya’s face go pasty white as she passes out. Aelith quickly pulls out both bedrolls and puts them on top of each other. She gently picks up Sariya and places her on the makeshift bed. She places her hand on Sariya’s forehead and feels that Sariya’s skin is on fire. “Oh please let this work” Aelith breaths to herself. She takes a deep breath and places her hands on either side of Sariya’s wound. She takes another deep breath, closes her eyes, and concentrates on Sariya’s wound. After a few minutes she opens her eyes to see that the gaping hole is still in her shoulder. She closes her eyes again and concentrates harder. Still she got nothing.

“Gods dammit!” she shouts “Why isn’t it working?”

“Aeltih? ” Sariya groans softly “I'm beginning to think that the arrow . . was poisoned. ”

“No it can’t be!” Aelith spoke frantically “there’s got to be something I can do!”

“I’m sorry” Sariya said softly “I love you….sister.” (Make this scene better? kinda bland)

Aelith felt Sariya’s body go limp. She roared and punched the ground hard; so hard she made quite a crater. It was here that Aelith buried Sariya. She spent hours sitting by her grave making promises to her and praying to Corellon Larethion, the god of the elves, to guide her soul to the Everlasting Kingdom of the Elves. 

Aelith awoke to find she had fallen asleep sitting up. She took Sariya’s dagger from her lap and clipped it to her belt. After sitting there for a few more minutes, she finally decided to get up. She packed her belongings, said one last goodbye to Sariya and turned towards the next town. As she walked through the woods her mind drifted back to all the time she spent with Sariya. Fishing at the stream, sparring behind Sariya’s house, and not to mention the…… A snap brought Aelith out of her thoughts and she dived behind a rock. Peering around it she saw an orc, and her blood ran hot. She flew out from behind the tree, grabbed the orc by the throat and slammed it into a tree.

She got close to its face and growled through clenched teeth “Where is the rest of your clan?”

The orc pointed to a clump of bushes in the distance. Aelith turned her head and looked. She snorted a small jet of flame, something she had never done before. She turned back to the orc, didn’t give it a second thought, and ripped off its head. She threw the body carelessly to the ground.

She went over to the bushes and carefully peered through. There were five orcs sitting around a fire. There was a slight hint of roasted gopher in the air. She slipped her hand into a pouch on her belt and pulled out three throwing knives. She took careful aim at the three orcs that had their backs to her. She threw the knives, and was rewarded with three soft thuds as the orcs toppled over lifeless. She swiftly ran in a half circle to the other side of the camp and looked though the bushes. The last two orcs were searching the bush for whatever it was that had killed their companions. Aelith slowly pulled her staff from its holster on her back. She leapt from the bush and smacked them both in the back of their heads. The blow knocked them both unconscious and they crumpled on the ground. She looked down at the orcs, chose the fatter of the two and snapped its neck. She took the other one and bound and gagged it. She then sat down in front of the fire eyeing the gopher hungrily. She realized she had not eaten since lunchtime the day before. She pulled the gopher from the stick it was roasting on and wolfed it down; she did the same with the next four. She then leaned back and fell asleep. 

Aelith didn’t know if it was the rustling that woke her or her instincts, but she snapped open her eyes to see the bound orc inching toward her.

She looked at it and shook her finger and said “Ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The orc froze in place. Aelith pulled her dagger out of its sheath, walked over to the orc and picked it up by its shirt. Holding the dagger to its throat, she said slowly “I need you to deliver a message to all of your kind…..tell them that Aelith the Fierce is coming to claim their lives!”

She cut the orc’s binds and it scampered off tripping as it ran, its eyes filled with pure fear. She went and sat down. She put her hands behind her head and leaned back against a rock. She was quite pleased with herself and uttered a low chuckle. Looking around she realized she had not reclaimed her throwing knives. She walked over to the bodies and wrenched the knives out of the backs of their heads. Something shiny caught her eye. It was a flask. She bent down and picked it up. Turning it over in her hands she realized it was a wine flask from her old village. She kicked the body of the orc that was carrying it and went back and sat down. Opening it she smelled its contents. Satisfied that is was safe she slowly drained it.

After an hour of sitting by the fire Aelith thought it a good idea to leave before the orc brought reinforcements to the camp. She gathered up her things and put it in her pack. She looked around for anything that might be useful and found some leftover gopher. She wrapped it up and put it in her pack and headed back to the trail. As she walked, a strong wind tore at her clothes. She stopped and sniffed the air. It was the foul stench of orc that was riding the wind. She knew what was going on; there was an ambush just beyond those large stone pillars in the distance. Aelith suddenly got an idea. She jumped into a tree and ran through the tops until she got close. She slowed her pace and crept through the trees. Looking at the orc mob she thought it rather small. She made a quick head count. _Ten? That’s all that was waiting?_ She slowly pulled out her bow and strung it. She picked three of her best arrows and nocked them all. She took careful aim and released them; three orcs fell dead. She jumped from the tree and quickly glided to another tree on the other side of the road. She looked at the spot from where she just came to catch the last of a hail of arrows sail into the tree. They sent an orc in to the woods to see if they had hit their prey. After a minute or two it came out shaking its head. Then some unrest started to run through them. They kept switching their gaze from tree to tree looking for some telltale sign to show them where to fire. Aelith took three more arrows and fired them. She jumped in to the next tree over just as four arrows thudded into the tree. At this point the dullest of the orcs started too really panic. Aelith tried to contain a laugh as it started running in little circles, screaming. She nocked an arrow and waited for the right time to let it fly. Suddenly an arrow grew from the orc’s head and it fell dead.

With only three orcs left, Aelith jumped from the tree and landed a few feet from them. The orcs just stood there, stunned by the colossal size of the half-dragon. She drew her sword and dagger. The first orc she cleaved in two with her sword, the second she gutted with her dagger, and with a mighty beat of her wings, she sent the last flying into one of the pillars. The force of the orc hitting the pillar made a large chunk of rock fall off of it and land on the orc, crushing it flat. She cleaned and put away her dagger and sword, took what arrows the orcs had left and put them in her quiver. As she continued down the road, she noticed movement in the ditch up ahead. She sensed another trap so she dove into the opposite ditch. She slowly crawled along the ditch on her stomach till she was directly across from the movement. She drew the dagger and readied herself. She leapt from the ditch and over the road, grabbed the creature from the ditch and held the dagger to its throat. 

Her mind tingled just in time to catch the gruff voice yelled “Don’t! I am a friend not a foe!”

Aelith looked at what she had in her hand. It was a human that was holding his hands in front of his face. A pitiful defense one might say.

“Grrr” grunted Aelith angrily “It’s only a human.” And she dropped him.

“Hey I’m not _just_ a human.” he said with a dignified tone “I am Gail the thief.” As he rose to stand he wobbled and braced himself on a large stick. Once he got his balance he struck a proud pose then almost toppled over again.

“Do you need some help?” asked Aelith trying to suppress a laugh.

“Well maybe a little.” said Gail.

Aelith looked him over and for the first time realized how big she actually was. Gail was tall for a human but he still only came up a little past her waist. He had dark, shaggy hair that was sort of slicked back. He wore light clothes so he could run and move easily and silently. On his belt he had small daggers and several small pouches. She picked him up and placed him on a large rock.

“What is wrong?” she asked

“Well, I think my leg is broken.” Gail replied.

“Ok, I’ll be back.” Aelith said.

A few minutes later she came back with some small plants, a giant leaf, and some medium sized sticks. She took a large stone bowl from her pack and set it down. She put the small plants into the bowl. Then she took a large rock and ground up the plants until they were nothing but mush. She added some dirt and water to make a thick paste. She spread the mixture onto the big leaf and wrapped it around Gail’s leg. To make sure it stayed she tied it with a strip of cloth. Then she took the sticks and made a splint out of them and tied those with cloth as well.

“There” said Aelith “All finished”

“Thanks” Gail said gruffly.

“So how did it get broken?” Aelith asked.

“Well, I was walking down the road when I saw some orcs coming at me. I thought for sure I was dead but they just ran past me. One of them decided to push me into the ditch and I landed wrong.”

“Nice” commented Aelith.

“Hey! I said I was a thief not an acrobat” Gail said slightly hurt.

“Come on, let me carry you. Which way are you going?” asked Aelith hefting Gail onto her shoulder.

“I’m not sure where” said Gail “But why you being so nice about this?”

“Well, because it’s probably my fault.” said Aelith “They are kinda after me…it’s a long story.”

“Oh…do tell; we have plenty of time” replied Gail becoming very interested.

“Well ok” said Aelith and she told her story as they walked.

When she finished Gail said “I know how you feel. I recently lost my brother Collin, also by orcs.(Maybe try and not have everybody and their brother killed by orcs?) ” Gail added sadly “We did everything together. He taught me how to sneak a wallet without being noticed. He was there for my first big score, and to supply the bail money afterwards……I miss him.” 

“I am truly sorry for your loss.” said Aelith gravely.

The next few hours went by in silence. When the sun started to set they decided to set up a camp. They traveled off the road a bit and found a nice little clearing. Aelith went out to find some firewood. Upon her return she found a very upset Gail.

“What‘s wrong Gail?” Aelith asked

“I lost my sleeping bag” he said.

“Here, use mine” said Aelith “I will keep watch. Besides you need sleep more than I do.”

“That’s mighty kind of you Aelith” Gail replied.

He lay down and curled up and was soon fast asleep. Aelith leaned back against a tree and watched Gail. She didn’t trust him much, but she figured she had to change that if she was serious about traveling with him for much longer. She fed the fire and looked out into the woods for any telltale sign of an ambush. She yawned and leaned back against her tree. Nothing exciting was going to happen tonight she thought. 

Aelith woke to find she had fallen asleep on her watch. She looked around and saw Gail was still asleep. She got up and stretched, and walked over to the little pit where the fire had been. She put down some logs and started another fire. She found a large flat rock and propped it above the fire. When it was hot enough she pulled out a small stone container. It was enchanted to keep anything that was put inside of it cold. Out of the container she pulled some eggs. She cracked them and put them on the rock to cook. She heard Gail shift and groan. Looking up she saw he was sitting up rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning Aelith.” he said

“Good morning Gail” she replied

“What you makin’ there?” Gail asked.

“Eggs and toast” 

“Sounds good to me.”

“Good, cause it’s all we got” finished Aelith.

Gail groaned went to stand up and he stumbled and caught himself on a tree. He mumbled “Ow” and slowly limped to the small stream that was running by their camp. He cupped water in his hand and splashed it on his face. He walked back and Aelith was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged and sat down awkwardly. “Ow” he repeated. He picked up the flat rock that held his breakfast and slowly ate it. He fed the fire and inched closer to warm up. As he sat there he noticed the dagger Aelith carried around so protectively. He reached for it.

“Touch it and die.” Aelith said as she walked into the makeshift camp.

Gail jumped and said “Gods, you scared me. I just wanted to look at it. I swear to Olidammara.”

Aelith wasn’t familiar with that God but figured it was probably the God of Rogues. She picked it up realizing she hadn’t even _looked_ at it since she got it.

She slid the dagger from its ornate silver wrought sheath, its curved blade glinting in the sun’s light. The gleam of the blade seemed to tarnish under some of the streaks of blood that still stained it. Aelith pulled a cloth out of her pack and worked contently at polishing the blade, being sure to scrub into the runic grooves of the blades namesake.

With the blood gone she held it up to the light to admire her work. She was somewhat disheartened when the blade did not seem to return to its original luster. Satisfied that it was at least clean enough she bagged the cloth and stared forlornly at the runes etched into the dagger.

_Defender of Honor,_ she thought to herself, _It is a fitting name for the blade I plan to have my vengeance with. Sariya will not have died in vain, for I shall . . ._

A sudden horn blast in the distance wrenched Aelith from her thoughts.

“What was that?” asked Gail

“That was an orc horn” replied Aelith “Let’s get out of here. Quick, pack the stuff.” After the stuff was packed Aelith picked up Gail and ran. The horn blasted again, only closer this time. Aelith looked at Gail and said “I’m going to put you in that tree. You stay there till I come back for you. Got it?” Gail nodded and she put him in the tree. “And for Gods sake stay quiet” she added and ran off. A few seconds later a gang of orcs ran by. Gail hoped that Aelith would be ok. 

Gail felt the tree branch shake slightly. He looked over and almost fell out of the tree. Somehow Aelith had jumped into the tree and he hadn’t noticed. Aelith jumped to the ground.

“Come on. We got to go before they realize they are going in a big circle.” she said hefting Gail out of the tree. She half ran, half jogged down another road that went east. Eventually they reached another fork in the road. There were two signs. One was newer and it said “Orlana”. The other was so weatherworn that you couldn’t even read what it said. Aelith looked at Gail.

“Orlana it is.” he said

It was getting dark as they neared Orlana. As they approached the gate, they saw the guards were getting ready to close it for the night. 

“You guys better hurry up cause once its closed it don’t open till morning!” one of the guards yelled.

“Hold on.” said Aelith to Gail

She broke into a brisk run and as she neared the gate she hit the ground and slid right under it as it closed.

“Don’t you think that was just a little close?” asked Gail.

“No, not really” replied Aelith smugly

“Ok, just checking” said Gail as he produced an apple out of what seemed to be thin air.

“Where did you get that?” asked Aelith looking at him sternly.

“I took it from one of the guards as you slid under the gate.” replied Gail. Feeling he had done a good job he took a bite out of the apple.

“What am I going to do with you?” she said shaking her head in mock disappointment. “Anyway, we need to find a place to stay for the night.”

As they walked they noticed that the streets were completely empty.

“We are going there tomorrow.” said Gail pointing at what seemed to be a bar.

“I don’t care what we do _tomorrow_ as long as we find a place for _tonight_.” said Aelith. They continued down dark alleyways until they came across a drunk that mumbled terrible directions to a place where they could spend the night.

By some miracle they happened to make it to the hotel, that was just as dark as the rest of the town, and they walked into the main building, hoping they could still find someone awake. They squinted unaccustomed to the light in the little room.

“Hello?” said Aelith

“Ah yes, hello!” said a tiny woman as she came out from a small back room.

“Um... Do you have any rooms that would accommodate my……size?” Aelith asked the hotel manager.

“Why, you’re lucky you ended up in Orlana.” she said “We are one of the few towns that are used to getting half-dragons. Follow me.”

She led them past several small huts till they reached what looked like a small cabin. The manager looked at Gail and asked “Would you like a separate place sir?”

Gail looked at Aelith and then at the manager. “No thank you.” he replied

“Well then, enjoy your night.” she said and walked off

Aelith looked at the cabin and noticed that it even had a door that she didn’t have to duck to get through. She opened the door and went in. Everything inside was the perfect size for her. She found her bedroom and looked in. The bed was huge. She walked back to the first room and looked at Gail.

“I feel small.” he said looking at her as he sat in a chair that practically swallowed him.

Aelith laughed and said “I think I’m going to bed. I’m dead tired.”

“Alright I’ll see you in the morning.” he said as he curled up on a large couch.

She walked into her room and laid down on the bed. She stretched and yawned. She pulled the blankets up and rolled onto her side. She was soon fast asleep.

When Aelith woke up she smelled something familiar. _Bacon? Why do I smell bacon, coming from behind the cabin at that?_ Aelith pondered. She got up and stretched. She went over to the window and looked out. Gail was half crouching half sitting with his splinted leg sticking out at an odd angle next to a small fire cooking. He took all the cooked food and put it on a small plate. He put the fire out by kicking dirt on it. Once he was satisfied it was out he took the plate and hobbled around to the front of the cabin. Aelith left her room and sat on a chair. As Gail entered she looked at him.

“What?” Gail asked putting on an innocent face.

“Did you steal that food?” asked Aelith accusingly.

“How could you ask such a thing?!” gasped Gail in mock shock. “Of course I didn’t steal it.”

“So you did steal it.” replied Aelith flatly.

“Yeah.” said Gail looking at the floor.

“Well at least I know I’ll eat well with you around.” Aelith said as Gail handed her a plate of food.

“Well that is true.” he agreed. He looked at his plate then at hers. He took some of the food from his plate and gave it to Aelith.

“Don’t you want more than that?” asked Aelith.

“No. I’m not that hungry this morning.” he said.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.

After the meal they placed the plates back in the pack and got ready to go into town. As they left the hotel they thought it a good idea to split up to get the supplies. Aelith went to the butcher shop to get some meat and then she walked around some street vendor carts. After finding a good assortment of fruits she set off to find the armor shop. When she walked in there were swords, shields and armor of all sizes. She had her armor polished. She didn’t need it fixed or have any dents removed because products of elves never dull and rarely dent. When it was finished she put it back on and left the shop. As she left the sun glinted of her armor and she tried to think if there was anything else she needed. Satisfied there was nothing else, she headed in the direction of the bar. When she arrived she saw Gail leaning on the side of the building.

“So, you finally decided to show up?” Gail teased

“At least I _bought_ all my stuff.” she teased back.

“Hey, I only stole half of it!” Gail protested. “Honest.” 

Aelith gave a little chuckle and asked “Are we goin in or what?”

“Yeah, let’s go in.” replied Gail 

As they walked in they were greeted by a blast of hot, thick, smoke filled air. As they walked up to the bar they slowly started adjusting to the light and smell. The bartender walked up and Aelith put two coins on the counter.

“Two beers please.” she said.

“Comin right up” he replied.

He set the mugs on the counter and walked off to help someone else. They picked up the mugs and found a table at the very back of the bar in a corner. They slowly started drinking and fell into deep conversation. They were starting to feel rather mellow when Aelith noticed something that made her rather uncomfortable. Gail noticed that Aelith started looking over her shoulder a lot.

“What’s up Aelith?” Gail asked concerned.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine.” she replied quietly.

“Aelith…. Come on, that face is tellin’ me that there is something up.”

“Ok.” she leaned in close to Gail “It’s those guys at the bar. I can only hear bits and pieces of their conversation but I know they are talkin’ about me. It’s just makin’ me a bit nervous.”

“Don’t mind them Aelith, their just drunken fools with nothing better to do.”

“I know but….” 

Gail thought about it and realized if they decided to start something that Aelith could more than likely be able to handle it. But either way he didn’t want trouble.

“Ok. Let’s go sit outside if you’re that uncomfortable.”

“Thank you Gail” she said.

They went to the bar to get a refill and started to head for the door.

“That’s right half-dragon leave. We don’t want your kind here.” said what seemed to be the leader of the group.

Aelith froze in place. Gail turned around and looked at Aelith. He could see anger blazing in her eyes. She turned and started towards the group.

“Do you have a problem with what I am!” she yelled.

The other members seemed a bit scared but the leader kept his cool. He was about to reply when his face turned very pale.

“Is there a problem here?” a voice boomed behind her. It was so loud it seemed to echo around the whole bar. It suddenly grew very quite. Aelith wheeled around to see a half-dragon standing behind her. He was a head taller than her and muscular. The soft candle light in the bar made his red scales glow an elegant orange. On his belt was a large sword. Strapped to his back was a large spear and tower shield. 

“N-n-n-no problem Galef…sir” the man stuttered. 

“Good, than you can leave this young lady alone.” the half-dragon replied.

Aelith turned away blushing.

“Ye-ye-yes sir.” said the man as he turned back to the bar. 

Aelith jumped slightly as the half-dragon placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asked her.

“Yes…yes, I’m fine, thank you.” she replied.

“Here you and you friend come and have a drink with me.” 

Aelith and Gail went back to the table and sat down. As Galef sat down the bar tender came over and gave him a mug. He then refilled theirs. 

“Let me properly introduce myself.” He said after the bar tender left “I am Galef. I act as the unofficial tactical defense general for Orlana. Nobody really messes with me, as I assure the cities safety.” 

“So what was with those guys?” asked Gail “We were told that you get a lot of half-dragons here.”

“Ah. That’s only partially true.” replied Galef “We _used_ to get a lot of them. Not so much anymore. Come to think of it you’re the first in…6 years. Anyway what was your name again?”

“Oh, I’m Aelith.” she replied softly

“Well Aelith I’m sorry you had to see that.” Galef said “If you have any trouble with him or anyone else let me know, ok.” 

“Yes sir.” she said.

“Well, sorry I got to go but I’m needed back at the training yard. So I’ll be seein’ ya little miss. Oh, and no need to call me sir.” he said. 

He finished his beer and walked out of the bar. After he left Aelith stared intently at the knots in the table. After awhile Aelith heard Gail give a little chuckle to himself. 

“What?” asked Aelith.

“You like him don’t you?” Gail asked as he leaned back in his chair.

“No.” she said staring at the bottom of her tankard her face turning a dark blue.

“Your blushing aren’t you?” he teased “So you do like him.” 

“No I don’t.” she said angrily. She finished her beer and slammed the empty mug on the table. “If you need me I’ll be at the hotel.” and she stormed out.

“I was just playin’ around!” Gail tried to yell after her. He sighed and picked up his makeshift crutch. As he hobbled out of the bar he squinted in the sunlight. He spotted Aelith on top of a rampart starring off into the distance. He limped over to the rampart and looked down.

“Oh boy! Stairs.” He commented dryly as he tried to go up them. He had managed the first step and looked up at Aelith only to see her sprinting down. She picked him up and put him on her shoulder. 

“Look, Aelith, what I said in the bar I was just kidding.” he said.

“That doesn’t matter right now.” she replied “There are orcs headed this way. Scores of them.”

“So why are we still here?” Gail asked franticly.

“Because we have to warn them.” Aelith replied “I’m going to tell Galef, he’ll know what to do. You stay here at the hotel, the last thing I need is you getting hurt again.”

“But…” Gail tried to protest but Aelith had already run off. “Err, Fine!”

As she entered the training grounds she saw two men sparring off to the side. She ran up two them and asked where she could find Galef.

“He’s probably over in that shack over there.” one replied

“Thank you.” She said as she ran off. She knocked on the door and heard Galef yell to come in. 

“Ah, it is you Aelith. Do you need something?”

“No, but there is something you need to know.” she panted “There is a army of orcs marching towards Orlana as we speak.”

“Are you sure?” he asked “Because if there were my guards should have sounded the alarm by now.”   
“They are too far away to see by human eyes. I was have abilities they do not.” she said “Please trust me.”

“Alright, take me to where you saw them.” said Galef as he walked outside. She walked with him over to a large bell. Galef reached out and grasped the rope. 

“You sure you saw them heading this way?” he asked one more time

Aelith nodded and Galef pulled the rope. The loud booming quickly filled the city. Almost instantly the city seemed to move. Windows snapped shut and people ran out of their house. Some ran to the training ground while others opened small cellars next to their houses. They came out with weapons and armor. They passed it out to other that didn’t have any and started to file into the training camp to be briefed.

“Impressive?” asked Galef looking at the rather stunned Aelith.

“Yeah.” was all that she could manage.

“Now, take to the place where you saw the orcs.” said Galef.

When they reached the rampart, Galef just stared out into the distance for awhile. Suddenly a large hawk flew down and landed on Galef’s arm as he extended it. He looked at the bird and nodded. Then a thought hit Aelith as the bird flew away.

“Your eyesight is just as good as mine, isn’t it?” she asked, feeling almost immediately silly for even asking the question. 

“Yes, and I see the group of orcs of which you spoke.” he replied. “It appears they are well equipped as well.” 

“Galef” Aelith said quietly “I’m afraid this is my fault.”

“Why is that?”

“Several years ago I lost my village and just recently my best frei…my sister to those monsters. Filled with anger and sorrow, I grabbed the next one I saw and told him to tell any others he passed that I was coming to kill them.”

“I see” said Galef turning around “Is everyone ready?”

Aelith turned to see that the whole Orlanian army had come up behind them. It appeared as though there were enough troops to match if not outnumber the orcs.

“And these are just the men.” said Galef “The women shoot arrows from the tops of the houses, take care of the injured, and cook meals.”

“Wow, you guys are really organized.” was all that Aelith could manage.

Suddenly there was a horn blast from behind the wall. Galef wheeled around and peered over the rampart. All he saw was a solitary orc on a horse.

“What do you want?” Galef yelled over the wall making sure he could not be seen.

“I have come to strike a deal with you.” the orc replied

“What kind of deal?” Galef asked.

“Give us the one that calls herself “Aelith the Fierce” and in return we won’t destroy your pitiful little town.” the orc replied “but refuse and we shall attack at dawn.” 

“If you want her you will have to go through the whole city of Orlana to get her, because there is no way we will give her to scum like you!.” Galef yelled defiantly.

“Very well, I shall tell my master.” The orc said grimly “At dawn you die!” and with that he rode off in a cloud of dust. 

“I’m sorry this has happened.” Aelith said looking down. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“No need to be sorry.” Galef said “I’ve been meaning to put my troops through some decent training.”

“Is that your only reason for doing this?” she asked.

“No, not the only one.” he replied.

“Then why else?”

“You seem like a person worth saving” he said.

“Is that so?” said Aelith drawing closer to him.

“Sir,” said a troop running up the stairs “what are our orders?”

“Tell the troops to stay where they are for now.” Galef said turning back to look out over the path.

“Yes sir.” The troop said before throwing a quick salute and ran back down the stairs. 

“You can go back and sleep in your bed tonight, I have everything here under control” Galef said to Aelith. 

“No, that’s ok. I think I’ll stay” she said sitting down with her back to the rampart.

“Ok, it’s your choice” he said knowing that she was set on staying. 

As the night drug on she watched as the Orlanians started grouping around small fires to stay warm. She saw people running from a building to the small fires handing out food. As she watched her stomach growled hungrily.

“Don’t worry, our food will be coming up anytime now.” Galef assured her.

A cold breeze tore through the air. Aelith hugged herself tight to keep warm. She wished there was a fire up here that she could huddle next to. She watched as a man walked up the stairs holding two plates of food.

“Here you are sir” he said handing Galef a plate.

“Thank you” he replied as he took it and placed it on the top of the wall.

“Ma’am.” he said handing her a plate.

She nodded in thanks as she took the plate. It wasn’t much, she thought, but it was food none the less. There were some stripes of dried meat, biscuits, and a baked potato. She ate it slowly, savoring the taste. When she finished she put the plate on the ground next to her. She started to feel a bit tired, so she tried to concentrate on one thing to keep here awake. Her gaze fell upon one of the small camp fires. She watched as it flickered in the breeze, the cool, calming breeze, and she fell asleep. 

When she woke up she was still leaning on the wall, but she was also covered in a blanket. It was soft and warm. She was so relaxed under this blanket that she almost fell back asleep. Then she remembered why she was on the rampart. She quickly stood up and surveyed the path out said Orlana. Empty. She sighed with relief. Picking up the blanket she folded it neatly and looked around for Galef. He was standing further down on the rampart looking out. 

“Is this yours?” she asked walking up to him.

“Yes it is. You looked a bit cold so I gave it to you.”

“Sorry for falling asleep on you last night.” She said handing him the blanket. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“It’s alright, but you might wanna get ready. They will be here soon.” he replied.

“Hey, guys!” yelled a voice from behind them. 

Turning around Aelith saw Gail coming up the stairs, without the makeshift cast.

“Whatever it was you use on my leg it sure worked fast.” he said stretching it.

“I learned that trick from the elves” said Aelith. 

“Here they come!” yelled Galef. He turned to his men and said “Get ready, we’re in this to win!”

“Yes, sir!” yelled a loud chorus of voices.

With a loud crack and a bang the front gate of Orlana fell in. Orcs started pouring into the city weapons drawn only to see the empty streets. There was no one…anywhere.

“Ain’t there ‘possed to be peoples here?” An orc pondered.

“They must have escaped.” one snarled.

“How, we had guards posted around the city.” shot another.

“Maybe a secret tunnel.” another suggested.

“Look, up there!” one said pointing to the roof of a house. “The dragon!”

Aelith jumped from the roof and landed several yards from the army. 

“Are you Aelith?” the leader asked gruffly.

“I am…and you shall all die by my hand for invading this place.” she said.

The orc gave a guttural chuckle at that. “The way I counts, I wanna sees that. I have more heads then you do, oh blue one. I thinks we slay you first.”

“We shall see.” she said drawing her sword. “ORLANA!” she yelled as she hefted her sword above her head.

The mass of orcs started to move when out from between houses the Orlanians charged, weapons drawn and shutters swung open to reveal rows or archers. The foot soldiers circled around the orcs, challenging them to so much as breathe.

Aelith walked up to the leader and put her sword to it’s throat “I am willing to spare your lives. All you have to do is surrender and leave.”

“Never, we shall fight!” yelled an orc as he fired off an arrow straight at Aelith.

Like a red bolt of lightning Galef shot from between two houses. He grabbed the arrow mere inches from Aelith’s face and snapped it in two. He threw the bits to the ground and slowly unsheathed his great sword.

“Very well.” said Aelith hiding the relief that she felt. 

“Attack!” yelled Galef, as he held his sword into the air.

The two armies collided with a clash of weapons and armor. Glints of sunlight reflected off sword and shield alike causing shimmers to dance across Orlana. The leader knocked the blade from his throat and swung his axe at Aelith. She back stepped and threw the flat of her blade up with both hands to greet the axe as it came down. The metallic clang filled her ears like a mad swarm of bees threatening to drown out her every thought. She pushed through it and tilted her blade to one side so the axe slide to the ground and proceeded to knock the orc in the face with the pommel of her sword. The orc stumbled back as blood poured from its nose, guttural noises gurgling from its throat as the blood poured into its mouth. With a roar it charged her, axe raised high. Aelith spun the blade around in her hand and easily side stepped the attack as she slashed at the orcs ribs. It howled in pain as it fell to one knee, bracing itself on the handle of its axe. Aelith slid her staff from the holster and slashed an orc through the heart as it ran towards her.

“You gonna just sit there on the ground like a lump, or follow through with those long winded promises?”

The orc gurgled some more as it struggled to its feet “Those words you spoke to my kin, I will make you eat them.” It raised the axe and charged her again.

Aelith whipped the staff at the orcs face. The staff connected with a squish and then a crunch as Aelith’s palm landed on the other end. The orc flung straight onto his back as the staff popped into the air.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” Aelith chimed as she caught the staff on its path to the ground. “You’ll have to speak alittle louder.” She pushed the butt of the staff into the orcs chest ensuring he didn’t get up. She glared down into its eyes. “You have been bested. Know that this is for my people. For my father. For my Sister!” Aelith screamed as she brought her sword down into its neck. Blood shot into the battle field as she wrenched the sword from the orc.

Aelith stared over the carnage of war as humans and orcs alike clashed. She could see that the orcs numbers were dropping fast. The glint of red she was looking for finally caught her eye. “There you are.” She whispered to herself as she trudged through the fray to meet him.

Galef was locked in battle with a muscled orc that was swinging a giant hammer with enough force to make the air hum. Galef was back stepping each swing until he ran out of room and was forced to throw up his tower shield in defense. The hammer crashed into the shield with such might that the shield splintered in a concussive blast that sent both Galef and the orc to the ground. Galef fumbled for his lost spear but his hand was met with nothing but air. He looked up and saw the orc upon him with sword drawn. Galef threw his arm up and clamped his eyes shut as the orcs sword came down on him. A metallic clang was all that filled his ears. He opened his eyes to see Aelith standing over him blocking its blow.

Aelith gave a quick kick to the orcs gut and sent it reeling backwards into the battle. She turned and offered a hand to Galef.

“Thanks, you really saved my hide.” He said as he took her hand.

Aelith pulled him up with a quick tug. “That was for catching the arrow.”

“Oh, so it’s not because you didn’t want me dead?” he chuckled as he picked up a shield from the ground. 

“In your dreams.” Aelith threw him a quick salute and a wink as ran into the mass of fighting.

She soon found herself fighting next to Gail who was doing a little more thieving than fighting.

“Finding anything good?” she asked as she took off an orcs head.

“Not really. They’re carrying more junk than anything” Gail replied as he dodged a sword and inspected something he pilfered. Throwing it over his shoulder he drew one of his daggers and ran at an orc. The orc swung its sword at him just as he ducked and rolled under its legs. 

“Here, hold this.” He said as he jammed the dagger in its back and slipped his hand into one of its pouches. Pulling out a hand full of items he quickly looked through it and found nothing of use. Dropping it he put his hand back on the dagger he ripped it out with a little twist. The orc collapsed in a heap as Gail took off to find his next victim.

Aelith gave a little chuckle as she blocked an attacking orc. Then a bust of pain shot from her shoulder. Looking over she saw a spear head in her arm. She looked down at the orc on the other end of the spear. Putting her hand on its shoulder she ran him through with her sword. Pulling the sword out of it, she picked up the orc and flung it through the battle. The body hit three other orcs before it stopped. Looking down at the spear she grasped the handle and took a deep breath, and pulled it from her arm. Roaring in pain she threw the spear to the ground. Looking up she saw the last living orcs fleeing from Orlana.

“Should we give chase, sir?” a troop shouted to Galef

“Don’t worry, I got this” said Aelith as she ran to the front gate. Looking out see saw five orcs running on the path. Drawing her bow she fired off five shots like chain-lighting. She saw them drop like rocks. Turning towards Galef she said “It is done.”

A mighty cheer arose from the troops

Turning back to the path she just stood there staring off in to the distance.

“Those were some nice shots.” said Gail as he walked up to her cleaning his daggers.

“I take it you already searched all the bodies.” she said.

“yup.” he replied.

“Did you find anything of Elvin make?”

“No, I’m sorry nothing like that here.”

“Ok, thanks.”

“Are you ok?” he asked.

He got no response. 

“Um…okay. I guess I’ll just meet you back at the hotel.” He said as he slowly turned on his heel as walked away glancing back only once.

After about ten minutes Galef walked up to her and asked “You will join us at the victory feast I hope.” Aelith somewhat nodded and Galef continued “You fight well you know. One of the best I have ever seen. The elves trained you well.” he paused “That is why I wish to go with you when you leave.” 

Shocked, Aelith turned and looked at him “But why? I thought this place depended on you.” 

“The men that I have taught can learn nothing more from me. I will leave my best in charge, they will be fine.” he assured her.

“Sure. Why would you want to follow me anyway? Do you like me or somethin’?” she asked staring at him intently.

“No, I just...um...thought that I could…ya know…learn some stuff from you.” he said as he shifted uneasily.

“Really, but I thought you were trained by elves also?”

“You know what, fine, if your gonna start listing all the reasons I shouldn’t go, then I wo…”

“It’s alright. You can come.” she said cutting him off “now I’m going to get some sleep, see you tonight.” she turned to go then turned back “We leave at dawn, better be ready”

“Yeah,” Galef said as he watched her walk off. “Damn, women are crazy.” He slowly strolled through the town before heading back to his house to gather what he needed to leave.

As Aelith neared the hotel she looked towards the sky. _How pretty…and bright._ She thought to herself. _Much brighter than I’ve seen them for a long time._ As she walked through the door she saw Gail sitting at the table drinking some tea. He would have said “hi” but he saw the look on her face and figured he wouldn’t get a response. Aelith went into her room and flopped down on the bed. With a long sigh she rolled over and slipped right into sleep.

Aelith awoke to Gail shaking her.

“Is something wrong?” she asked groggily.

“No silly, it’s time to eat!” Gail replied with a big smile on his face.

She groaned and sat up. “How long have I been asleep?” she asked.

“A coupla hours, come on I’m hungry! I’ll leave without you, I swear I will!”

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up” she said as Gail ran out. She waited till she heard the door close to stand up. Stretching as she walked into the main room she took her staff and walked towards the door. Opening it she looked out upon the horizon. The sun had started to set, casting shadow on everything it left behind, and was turning the sky a deep red. At the edge of this crimson glow the first of the stars could be seen, quietly poking through soft wispy clouds. She stood awhile longer gazing up at the beauty before moving on. Figuring the orange light that was at the center of town was a bonfire, she set off in that direction. 

As she reached the center of town she saw big tables of fruit had been set out. She picked up an apple and inspected it. Finding it satisfactory she took a bite out of it and headed towards the fire. She sat down on a bench that had been placed in front of it and gazed in to the flames, watching them move about as if in some exotic dance.

“It’s about time you showed up” said Galef as he sat down on the bench next to her, pulling her out of her entranced stare. “I was starting to get worried that you would sleep through it.”

“I was thinking about it” Aelith replied “but I figured this would be the best food I would have for awhile once we left.”

As the night wore on there was dancing, singing, and drinking, lots of drinking. All of which, however, Aelith only felt like watching. She watched through half-lidded eyes as the blurry figures moved back and forth to the ragged beat of drums. Every so often some people would pass by her to throw wood on the fire to keep it alive. Aelith was starting to drift off when a loud booming brought her back to reality.

“What was that?” She asked a passerby.

“That? That was the dinner bell.” He replied with a grin.

“Dinner bell? What was all that other food that was set out then?”

“Appetizers.” He finished as he ran off to get a good seat.

.

Aelith got up slowly from the bench and arched her back in a stretch, resulting in the loud popping of several vertebrae. She let out a roaring yawn and wandered in the same direction she had seen the man run. As she walked she came across six identical long wooden tables. Each was laden with food and looked like it could seat at least fifty people. Aelith spotted two chairs that seemed bigger than the rest and she headed towards them.

As she got closer she noticed that Gail had hunkered down in a seat next to the tall chairs. She padded over and plopped down next to him. “What a spread, eh?”

“Yea it is!” Gail was practically drooling on the table. “I haven’t eaten this well in a long time. Look!” Gail waved his arms in spastic circles “There’s like six chickens on this table. And steak! And, and, and oh my gods they have shrimp! Shrimp! You never see those around here.”

Aelith just chuckled as Gail tittered on like a giddy school child.

“I see your friend is enjoying our selection.” Galef said as sunk into the chair next to Aelith.

“Yes, he has been going on about it since I sat down. He’s likely to have a stroke if you don’t let him eat soon.” Aelith chuckled.

“And look at how fresh these grapes are!”

“Alright, I’ll start this before he explodes.” Galef stood with a glass in his hand. He tapped the rim with his fork and the dull roar from the Orlanians quieted down unnaturally fast. All that could be heard in the darkness was the crackle of the bonfire. “My fellow Orlanians, seeing you all in action today filled me with great pride, but also with sorrow. For I see now that I have nothing left to teach you and must go my own way. I will have no boos from you Bankman, quite down and listen. I am leaving my best in charge. They will ensure that the training required will get passed on the way it should, but let us not dwell on such things on this occasion! For today, you have proven yourselves true warriors. Orlana is strong because you make her strong. For Orlana!”

“For Orlana” the cheer almost seems to reach the heavens.

Galef returned to his seat and the roar of chatter rose to its previous decibel.

“Are you sure you want to do this Galef?” Aelith asked as she started putting food on her plate. “You seem to like it here.”

“Yes I am sure. They have no further use of my services. I want to get back out and roam like I used to.”

“Wait a minute.” Gail mumbled through a mouthful of food. “You’re tellin’ me he’s commin’ with us?”

“Yea, is that gonna be a problem for you?”

“No, no.” Gail continued “I’m just wonderin’ why he plans on followin’ us when WE don’t even know where we are headed.


End file.
